SPECIAL COMMENTARY

A Dream Of Peace And Justice

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0 ver the High Holy Days, as
Jewish families throughout
the world redeemed them-
selves and offered
prayer for a sweet
New Year, events
unfolding in the
Middle East
offered a bitter
reminder of the
challenges before
the Jewish com-
munity and its
friends.
REP. DAVID E.
The book of
Genesis tells how
BONIOR
a dispute between
Special to
Abraham and
the Jewish News
Avimelech over
water led to the
first oath of peace described in the
Bible. Tragically, it now seems unlikely
that Abraham's descendents will take a
similar oath anytime soon.
The current violence reminds us of
the extraordinary barriers to peace. As
a supporter of President Bill Clinton's
Middle East initiative, I'm sympathet-
ic to those struggling to protect what's
left of the fragile peace process from
hard-liners on either side of the con-
flict. That's why I've been opposed to
any efforts in Congress that could
undermine the president's work to
help Israel and its Arab neighbors
from negotiating a final settlement.
Does this means Congress should
simply "keep out" of the negotiations?
Not at all. Should the peace process be
revived — and an agreement is negoti-
ated — it will be up to Congress to
carry through on the commitments
that President Clinton will need to
make as part of an overall settlement.
I'm working to see we do.
However, the concerns of the Jewish
community and its allies don't end with
winning peace in the Middle East. We
also have a responsibility to continue the
fight for justice here at home.

Fighting Hate
Many in our community still recall the
anti-Semitic harangues of Father Charles
Coughlin and how some Detroiters
hurled pork chops onto the field of
Briggs Stadium to mock Hank Green-
berg. While the vice-presidential nomi-
nation of Joe Lieberman says a lot about
how far America has come, we know we
still have a long way yet to go.
Today, polling indicates that 20 to

U.S. Rep. David E. Bonior of Mount
Clemens represents the 10th District in
Macomb County.

25 million Americans hold anti-Semit-
ic views. This hatred is reflected in the
burning of synagogues in Sacramento,
the attempted murder of Jewish chil-
dren in Los Angeles and in other
episodes of violence coast to coast.
We know that stronger laws can't
banish hate from people's hearts, but
they can help us fight those who
choose to act on it. That's why I'll
continue to support a strong Hate
Crimes law. But that's only where our
battle begins. Yet, America's mission
isn't only to battle racism and anti-
Semitism in the U.S., but to help
combat it worldwide.
Recently, we've seen show-trials
against Jews in Iran, assaults against
Jews in Argentina and even the elec-
tion of Nazi apologists in Austria. In
the 1930s, the U.S. looked the other
way when Hitler first launched the
Holocaust. That's why today Ameri-
cans share a special responsibility to
send a clear message that we don't
regard anti-Semitism as "a Jewish
problem," but as a priority for every-
one who cares about human rights.
As the Jewish community begins
-
the New Year, a world filled with
peace and justice seems a more distant
dream than ever. It is up to each of us
to keep that sweet dream alive.

❑

LETTERS

LETTERS

from page 46

4. He, now Gore's acolyte, contin-
ues to take campaign money from the
very media movers and shakers whose
products he condemns.
Gore's choice of Lieberman also
tells us something about Gore. This
was a purely cynical political choice.
Gore did it to separate himself from
President Bill Clinton. What better
way than to pick Lieberman, the
Democratic senator who had criticized
Clinton from the Senate floor?
Your word limitation on letters to the
editor prevents us from demonstrating
the emptiness of all your claims as to
why Gore is a better candidate. Howev-
er, we will mention one: Gore's sup-
posed expertise in foreign affairs.
It has now been revealed that in
June 1995, Gore signed a secret agree-
ment with Viktor S. Chernomyrdin,
Russia's then-prime minister, that
enabled Russia to sell arms to Iran
(New Yo" rk Times, Oct. 13). This secret
pact ignored the 1992 Iran-Iraq Arms
Nonproliferation Act, an act that Gore
co-sponsored. (How is that for hon-

